National Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Strategy Background Paper

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this survey is conducted with the general population, the Australian Secondary Students’
Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) Survey reports the use of over-the-counter and illicit drugs
among students aged 12 to 17 years attending grades 7 to 12 across Australia.
The 2005 ASSAD found that the vast majority (95%) of secondary school students had
never used amphetamine (White & Hayman, 2006). By the age of 17, 7% of students
reported some experience with amphetamine and approximately 3% of students 14
years and over reported using amphetamine in the month before the survey. Of the 4% of
students who used amphetamine in the year before the survey, 39% of males and 48% of
females indicated that they had used them once or twice. While there was no change in
the proportion of 12 to15 year-olds or 16 to17 year-olds using amphetamine in their lifetime
between 2002 and 2005, there was a significant decrease between 1999 and 2005 for both
age groups. However, there was no change in the proportion of students in both age groups
using amphetamine in the month prior to the survey between 1996 and 2005. Only 4% of
students had ever used ecstasy and recent use was not common among any age group.
2% of students aged 16 to17 had used ecstasy in the month prior to the survey.
Results from the 2005 ASSAD Survey also indicate that poly-drug use is frequent among
secondary students aged 12 to 17 years. Students who had used cannabis, amphetamine,
hallucinogens or ecstasy reported on other drugs used concurrently. Between 53% and
68% used alcohol concurrently with these four drugs and between 41% and 48% used
tobacco. Over one-third of students using amphetamine, hallucinogens or ecstasy also used
cannabis concurrently. One-quarter of students using hallucinogens, one-fifth of students
using cannabis, 18% of students using amphetamine and 17% using ecstasy did not use
any other substance.
In their submission, the Youth Substance Abuse Service (YSAS) in Victoria reported on an
analysis of the primary drug of choice being used by young people presenting over the past
five years. Results demonstrate that presentations for heroin use dropped markedly, while
there were corresponding increases in cannabis, alcohol, and ATS use during this period.
This submission reported that presentations for heroin treatment decreased from 48% in
2001-02 to 19% in 2005-06, while presentations for ATS increased from 7% in 2001-02 to
8.5% in 2005-06. These findings are contrary to those reported by the Ted Noffs Foundation
(TNF) (see www.noffs.org.au/programs/palm.shtm). TNF provides youth-specific programs
including Adolescent Drug Withdrawal Unit (ADWU), which is a 2-week residential program
for withdrawal and longer residential treatment in the rehabilitation program called Program
for Adolescent Life Management (PALM). PALM is designed for 14 to 18 year olds with
serious alcohol, or other drug-related difficulties. Research found that 21.8% of admissions
in 2001 nominated ATS as their primary drug of concern, compared with 41.7% in 2004.
This was higher than for heroin, and second only to cannabis. Further, it also found that,
between 2001 and 2006, a sample of 566 clients with ATS as the primary or secondary drug
of concern were more likely to be female, have injected any drug, had suicidal thoughts in
the last 3 months, had made a suicide attempt, reported self harm and scored higher on
depression, anxiety, hostility, paranoia and psychoticism on the Brief Symptom Inventory
(BSI). These users were also more likely to have lived in more places in the six months prior
to treatment entry, were more likely to have been sexually and physically assaulted by a
stranger or by a known person, been violent and aggressive as a consequence of their drug
use, and been involved in a greater variety of crime.